After $24m was siphoned from church, $26.6m diverted to cover tracks: prosecution
By Teh Shi Ning and Emilyn Yap 28 June 2012
Not only was $24 million allegedly siphoned from City Harvest Church (CHC) in sham bond deals, but $26.6 million more was diverted and circulated to cover the tracks in an elaborate ploy.
The prosecution laid out this case against CHC founder Kong Hee and four other people in court yesterday, a day after the Commissioner of Charities (COC) disclosed financial irregularities at the church.
The case involves three sets of charges, with the first centred on purported bond transactions used to conceal the transfer of church funds to support Ho Yeow Sun’s music career. Ms Ho, also known as Sun Ho, is Kong’s wife. She does not face charges.
The prosecution believes that $13 million were misappropriated from CHC’s building fund between 2007 and 2008 - disguised as investments in Xtron Productions bonds - to further Ms Ho’s pop career.
Based on Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) records, Xtron was registered in 2003 and its secretary is Serina Wee, CHC’s former finance manager. Its two shareholders are listed as Koh Siow Ngea and Choong Kar Weng. Xtron is involved in the reproduction of recorded media and posted a post-tax loss from continuing operations of $2.4 million in 2007.
Some $11 million was also allegedly diverted from the building fund between 2008 and 2009 on the pretext of buying PT The First National Glassware (Firna) bonds. The bulk of this went to Ms Ho’s career while the rest went to a Wahju Hanafi. According to COC’s release on Tuesday, the Indonesian businessman had donated $600,000 to CHC’s building fund.
Deputy public prosecutor Christopher Ong noted that a public statement had been issued at the church’s annual general meeting in April 2003, stating that no church funds went towards promoting Ms Ho’s music career.
The prosecution filed three charges each against Kong, CHC vice-chairman Tan Ye Peng, chairman John Lam Leng Hung and investment manager Chew Eng Han for conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust (CBT) by agent, under section 409 read with section 109 of the Penal Code.
The purported Xtron and Firna bond investments did not go unnoticed, and CHC’s auditor questioned those deals. The second set of charges relate to a series of complex transactions which some of the accused devised to clear the fictitious bond investments off the church’s accounts.
The prosecution believes that these individuals conspired to take $26.6 million more out of the church’s funds, and circulated these monies through a complicated series of transactions. This would create the false appearance that the purported sham bond investments had been redeemed, when the redemptions were actually financed using the church’s own funds. DPP Ong referred to these as “round-tripping”.
The charge sheets state that Tan, finance manager Sharon Tan, Chew and Ms Wee (who has not been charged) conspired to transfer $5.8 million from CHC’s building fund and $5.6 million from CHC’s general fund to Amac Capital Partners Pte Ltd’s Special Opportunities Fund in October 2009.
According to Acra records, Amac was registered in 2007 and its website lists Chew and Kenneth Goh as the two principal shareholders.
The four individuals are also alleged to have disbursed $15.2 million from the building fund to Xtron.
Asked if the initial $24 million that was allegedly misappropriated was returned to the church, a police spokeswoman would only say: “Generally, in law, the offence of criminal breach of trust of monies is established once there is misappropriation of the monies with the requisite intent, regardless of whether there have or have not been subsequent attempts at restitution by the accused.”
Under the second set of alleged CBT offences, the prosecution tendered three charges each against Tan, Chew and Sharon Tan.
The final set of charges centred on the falsification of CHC’s accounts. The prosecution accused Tan, Chew and Sharon Tan of doing so, to make it look like the purported bond investments had been either fully redeemed or set off against purported advance rental payments.
The trio face four charges each for conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts under section 477A of the Penal Code. Conviction under this section can lead to imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.
All five accused are out on bail of $500,000 each and their cases are up for further mention on July 25. Kong is represented by Allen & Gledhill’s Edwin Tong, Lam by Nicholas Narayanan of Nicholas & Tan, Tan by N Sreenivasan of Straits Law, Chew by Rodyk & Davidson’s Lok Vi Ming and Sharon Tan by Jeffrey Ong of JLC Advisors.
Chew told BT yesterday that it was “business as usual” at Amac Capital Partners. Transcu Group, a listed company which secured a $6 million equity line facility from Amac last year, issued a clarification on SGX stating that to its knowledge, no charges have been laid against Amac as a company.
Yesterday’s charges added to the complexity surrounding the CHC case. Round-tripping tricks are not new, but they are more commonly seen in the corporate world. NEL Group and Scorpio East Holdings are among companies here that have been embroiled in such transactions.
The allegations in the CHC case are serious, said National University of Singapore associate professor Mak Yuen Teen. The CHC case has “gone beyond just mismanagement, conflict of interests”.
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To cover tracks, funds sent ‘round-tripping’
After $24m was siphoned from church, $26.6m diverted to cover tracks: prosecution
By Teh Shi Ning and Emilyn Yap
28 June 2012
Not only was $24 million allegedly siphoned from City Harvest Church (CHC) in sham bond deals, but $26.6 million more was diverted and circulated to cover the tracks in an elaborate ploy.
The prosecution laid out this case against CHC founder Kong Hee and four other people in court yesterday, a day after the Commissioner of Charities (COC) disclosed financial irregularities at the church.
The case involves three sets of charges, with the first centred on purported bond transactions used to conceal the transfer of church funds to support Ho Yeow Sun’s music career. Ms Ho, also known as Sun Ho, is Kong’s wife. She does not face charges.
The prosecution believes that $13 million were misappropriated from CHC’s building fund between 2007 and 2008 - disguised as investments in Xtron Productions bonds - to further Ms Ho’s pop career.
Based on Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) records, Xtron was registered in 2003 and its secretary is Serina Wee, CHC’s former finance manager. Its two shareholders are listed as Koh Siow Ngea and Choong Kar Weng. Xtron is involved in the reproduction of recorded media and posted a post-tax loss from continuing operations of $2.4 million in 2007.
Some $11 million was also allegedly diverted from the building fund between 2008 and 2009 on the pretext of buying PT The First National Glassware (Firna) bonds. The bulk of this went to Ms Ho’s career while the rest went to a Wahju Hanafi. According to COC’s release on Tuesday, the Indonesian businessman had donated $600,000 to CHC’s building fund.
Deputy public prosecutor Christopher Ong noted that a public statement had been issued at the church’s annual general meeting in April 2003, stating that no church funds went towards promoting Ms Ho’s music career.
The prosecution filed three charges each against Kong, CHC vice-chairman Tan Ye Peng, chairman John Lam Leng Hung and investment manager Chew Eng Han for conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust (CBT) by agent, under section 409 read with section 109 of the Penal Code.
The purported Xtron and Firna bond investments did not go unnoticed, and CHC’s auditor questioned those deals. The second set of charges relate to a series of complex transactions which some of the accused devised to clear the fictitious bond investments off the church’s accounts.
The prosecution believes that these individuals conspired to take $26.6 million more out of the church’s funds, and circulated these monies through a complicated series of transactions. This would create the false appearance that the purported sham bond investments had been redeemed, when the redemptions were actually financed using the church’s own funds. DPP Ong referred to these as “round-tripping”.
The charge sheets state that Tan, finance manager Sharon Tan, Chew and Ms Wee (who has not been charged) conspired to transfer $5.8 million from CHC’s building fund and $5.6 million from CHC’s general fund to Amac Capital Partners Pte Ltd’s Special Opportunities Fund in October 2009.
According to Acra records, Amac was registered in 2007 and its website lists Chew and Kenneth Goh as the two principal shareholders.
The four individuals are also alleged to have disbursed $15.2 million from the building fund to Xtron.
Asked if the initial $24 million that was allegedly misappropriated was returned to the church, a police spokeswoman would only say: “Generally, in law, the offence of criminal breach of trust of monies is established once there is misappropriation of the monies with the requisite intent, regardless of whether there have or have not been subsequent attempts at restitution by the accused.”
Under the second set of alleged CBT offences, the prosecution tendered three charges each against Tan, Chew and Sharon Tan.
The final set of charges centred on the falsification of CHC’s accounts. The prosecution accused Tan, Chew and Sharon Tan of doing so, to make it look like the purported bond investments had been either fully redeemed or set off against purported advance rental payments.
The trio face four charges each for conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts under section 477A of the Penal Code. Conviction under this section can lead to imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.
All five accused are out on bail of $500,000 each and their cases are up for further mention on July 25. Kong is represented by Allen & Gledhill’s Edwin Tong, Lam by Nicholas Narayanan of Nicholas & Tan, Tan by N Sreenivasan of Straits Law, Chew by Rodyk & Davidson’s Lok Vi Ming and Sharon Tan by Jeffrey Ong of JLC Advisors.
Chew told BT yesterday that it was “business as usual” at Amac Capital Partners. Transcu Group, a listed company which secured a $6 million equity line facility from Amac last year, issued a clarification on SGX stating that to its knowledge, no charges have been laid against Amac as a company.
Yesterday’s charges added to the complexity surrounding the CHC case. Round-tripping tricks are not new, but they are more commonly seen in the corporate world. NEL Group and Scorpio East Holdings are among companies here that have been embroiled in such transactions.
The allegations in the CHC case are serious, said National University of Singapore associate professor Mak Yuen Teen. The CHC case has “gone beyond just mismanagement, conflict of interests”.
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